Yard sale finds

The best part of my weekend is Saturday morning when we drive through nearby towns searching for yard sales. Sometimes I check Craigslist or our local papers beforehand to find ones I’d like to visit, and other times we just drive aimlessly and follow whatever signs we come across.

I’ve noticed a few things:

* Huge yard sale signs don’t always indicate a good sale. More often than not, those with ginormous signs – painted, colored, advertising the “best” yard sale, and sometimes even covered in plastic for protection – often are the smallest sales, or sometimes even non-existent. The opposite is often true too – small signs, or no signs at all can direct you to the best sales.

* When you don’t bother to get any cash, you’re sure to find something you just have to have.

* People have a higher opinion of the value of their junk than they should. I’m under the assumption that the fact that a person dragged all this junk onto their lawn means that they no longer want it. Prices don’t often reflect that…

That being said, I have found some good lawn sale items so far this summer. Last weekend I found this vintage sewing case with brightly colored threads and other assorted sewing goodies

I really like the thread on wooden spools, and actually bought it more for a photography subject rather than for my sewing needs

At a another yard sale, which they were calling an Estate Sale (does that make it more desirable?), I found a couple metal crates filled with old glass bottles. I wanted to buy just the crates, but they wouldn’t sell them without the bottles. I ended up with one crate filled with my selection of bottles, which I’ve already put to use as vases.